If you are interested in B2B software generally, you should be particularly interested in the Canadian B2B software industry. I’m not sure what is in the water (beer?) up there, but Canada has more than its fair share of interesting B2B software companies and Canada’s overall balance between B2B and B2C companies seems more heavily B2B oriented. (Maybe Canada’s small population makes B2C less likely?)

Here’s a list of the top 25 software companies in Canada according to Branham Group Inc.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On this list, there are some fascinating B2B companies I know well:

• Open Text purchased GXS, the EDI giant, and a company I have written about extensively (here.)
• Points International, the subject of my prior post.
• Descartes, a supply chain logistics company I have owned stock in forever (and has treated me quite well).
• Mediagrif, a B2B marketplace company and owner of dating sites! (See here.)
• Absolute Software, which my buddy John Simpson taught me about long ago, when it was the “Lo-Jack” for laptops.
• GuestLogix, which is in the payments space for airlines and travel generally.

These companies are all public micro-cap or small cap Canadian B2B software companies.  They are the kind of companies that I love to fish around in for investments–usually for more fun that profit!   Most of them are also B2B platforms.

Now that I see the entire list though, I see I also have a bunch of other companies to study:

• Constellation (CSU.TO) bears further scrutiny.  At first glance, it appears to be some bizarro combination of Berkshire Hathaway and Computer Associates (CA).  It is a conglomerate of software companies producing nearly $1 billion in profitable maintenance revenue (from public and private sector software providers) with a stock price of $555.
• PointClickCare provides software for managing senior living communities.  (You have to love an industry that grows as more of its end customers die!) PointClickCare has filed to go public in the US and is backed by the smart (and good) guys at JMI Equity.
• D+H claims to be a top FinTech company and the #1 SaaS company in Canada.

It is going to take me a while to study these companies to see if there are investment opportunities on the list, many of which are public.  Please help if you are interested!

Fast Growers

That was just the list of the largest software companies in Canadian.   The list of the fastest growing tech companies in Canada (from Deloitte) includes additional interesting B2B software companies:

• Shopify (already public)
• Chango (bought by Rubicon Project)
• Acquisio (yet another ad-tech company)
• Clio (SaaS for law firms)
• Real Matters (which I have blogged about before here)
• Symbility (in mobile insurance claims and one I own stock in for no apparent reason)
• Intelex (in Environmental Health and Safety)
• Achievers (which specializes in employee recognition)

(I just took a quick glance at Achievers.  It sells a platform to help employees recognize each other, award points, and helps companies administer employee award programs.  I’m sure I am not doing Achievers justice, but it reminded me of everything I despised about working with for large companies!)

It looks like I’ll be spending some time studying the Canadian B2B software industry this Fall, you may want to do the same.